Coos Art Museum opens Expressions West 2017, an exhibition of western artists' works on April 14.

Coos Art Museum (CAM) in downtown Coos Bay, Oregon, will host Expressions West 2017, an exhibition of paintings by artists residing in in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The exhibition opens on April 14, with an evening reception and awards ceremony from 5-7pm. About 70 works of art in oil, acrylic, pastel or watercolor paint media will be on display until July 1, 2017.

Los Angeles-based painter, Katherine Chang Liu, will select artwork for the exhibition. With a background as a museum co-curator, lecturer and teacher, she has been invited to jury over 80 national, regional and statewide exhibitions from coast to coast. Liu's artwork combines brushy abstractions with collaged elements to produce painterly works with strong personal narratives. Her art can be found in over 1100 public, private and corporate collections.

Expressions West remains one of the premier annual exhibitions at CAM. Since 1950, the museum has been the cornerstone of visual arts on the South Oregon Coast. Located in the former US Post Office in downtown Coos Bay, this historic art deco building is Oregon's third oldest art museum. Currently, CAM has six active galleries on display and a growing permanent collection of mid-20th century and contemporary American art. Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay (541) 267-3901